Breakfast Time......

New and Improved? My thoughts...

Recently Vocation Brewing announced that they had rebrewed their extremely popular Waffle and Blueberry, Breakfast Stout. 'Breakfast Club'

The original, brewed in collaboration with Yeastie Boys has been a very popular member of the Tesco craft beer range. The 2nd version 'Breakfast Club 2.0' sees Vocation go it alone, and in their words is, bigger, thicker and fruitier!
2.0 is very shortly set to replace the original on the shelves of Tesco.

Therefore I thought in the name of research I should taste them side by side and put Vocation's claims to the test.

The pour was similar, both were well carbonated with a slight purple tinge. The original appeared slightly thinner letting a little light bleed through. 2.0 was completely opaque.

The aroma of both was fruity, chocolatey and sweet. The original however had a distinctive spicy aroma which was missing from 2.0. I later realised this was due to the lack of cinnamon in 2.0. As I'm a fan of cinnamon this was slightly disappointing.

The taste of 2.0 certainly made up for the lack of cinnamon. Compared to the original it was thick, fruity and well balanced. Loads of tart berry character woven into a sweet doughy and chocolatey beer. The original was very chocolatey, but the fruit was actually muted slightly by the spicy cinnamon. The irony....proof that a great aroma does always equal a great taste!

2.0 had a much thicker body, probably due to the addition of Lactose in the latest version, sorry vegans. The original for a 6.9% ABV was a little on the light side.

In conclusion. 2.0 has done exactly what it promised. It was thicker and fruity. The lack of cinnamon and the addition of the lactose has resulted in a better balance and improved mouthfeel. Although I enjoyed the spicy character of the original I understand why the cinnamon is not present in 2.0

For those who love the original I'm sure you won't be disappointed by 2.0. Be sure to try it for yourself.

Milk Stouts - Blind Tasting

2 breweries, 2 beers, 1 style!

I love milk stouts, in fact the first can I bought from my local bottle shop Hops and Crafts in Exeter was a milk stout! Therefore I thought milk stouts would be the ideal place to start some blind tastings.

I picked two beers with similar ABVs, similar adjucts and from a similar part of the UK, hopefully so the water should be fairly similar! 

For me the choice was obvious. 'Deeper Water' a 5.1% ABV Milk Stout with Vanilla, Cacao adjuncts from Bristol's Left Handed Giant and 'Milk Shake' at 5.6% ABV also from Bristol but this time from Wiper and True.

I've had these beers before, enjoyed them both and honestly found it difficult to separate them. This said I've never had them side by side so this could be interesting!

To make sure it was truly blind I used 2 identical glasses and poured a similar amount into each. I immediately noticed one was much more carbonated than the other. 

Beer 1, initial thoughts on the aroma, Milk chocolate, latte coffee and some vanilla. After a short time, the vanilla definately came more prominent.

Beer 2, this aroma was more muted. Certainly not as strong as beer one. Milk chocolate and vanilla were still very noticeable. I let it warm up a little but apart for some subtle coffee nothing much else came across.

Taste.... Beer 1, roasted coffee, milk chocolate, vanilla latte. Nicely balanced, lovely depth of flavour. It finished with a lovely lingering milk chocolate flavour. Almost like letting milk chocolate melt on your tongue!

Beer 2, similar to beer 1, a lovely milk chocolate initial flavour, roasted coffee and some vanilla on the aftertaste. Beer 2 also had a smokey edge which worked surprisingly well with the sweet chocolate and vanilla.

Both beers had reasonable bodies. Beer 1 was the more carbonated but did feel a little thin. Beer 2 was thicker and as a result felt more satisfying on the palate.

Overall beer 1 was my favourite, it had a fuller aroma and more depth of flavour. The mouthfeel of beer 2 was far and away the best but unfortunately the more subtle flavours let it down.

Both beers tasted and Beer 1 crowned winner....but which was which??

The big reveal!

Beer 1 - Left Handed Giant 'Deeper Water'
Beer 2 - Wiper and True 'Milk Shake'